A THIRD generation boatman is being forced to up anchor and find a new berth for his family.

A planning inspector has upheld an enforcement notice requiring the family to sail on to pastures new.

The notice for the family to move was issued by Crewe and Nantwich Borough Council in connection with Plum Tree Moorings on the Llangollen branch of the Shropshire Union Canal, in Nantwich Road, Wrenbury.

Boat dweller Mr S Wain appealed to Local Government Secretary, Ruth Kelly, over the enforcement action taken by the council against permanent residential moorings in a field next to the canal.

Inspector Paul Taylor said he did not share Mr Wain's view that residential permanent moorings were acceptable because the boats were attractive and the moorings added to the sustainability of local communities.

Commenting on Mr Wain's rights, he recognised his decision would interfere with Mr Wain's home and family life but said this must be weighed against the wider public interest.

Mr Taylor dismissed the appeal and believed it would be reasonable to require Mr Wain to leave and to reinstate the canal bank to its former condition within 12 months.